Thanksgiving Weekend Multichannel Shopping Up Almost 40 Percent Over
Last Year

November 27, 2018 01:20 PM Eastern Standard Time

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--From Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, more than 165 million
Americans shopped either in stores or online, surpassing the 164 million
who had said they would shop in a consumer
sentiment survey conducted ahead of the holiday, the National Retail
Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics said today.

The average shopper spent $313.29 on gifts and other holiday items over
the five-day period. Of that, $217.37 or 69 percent was specifically
spent on gifts. The biggest spenders were older millennials and Gen Xers
(35-44 years old) at $413.05.

“For several years, we’ve been talking about the dynamic nature of the
retail industry and the speed of change necessary to meet the consumer
demand,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “This year’s research
clearly shows that the investments made by retailers are paying off in a
big way. Over the last couple of days, what I heard in discussions with
retail CEOs across all categories and segments was very positive, driven
by macro conditions of low unemployment and rising wages combined with
the right mix of merchandise at great prices. This is a very strong
emotional start to the holiday season and a positive indicator of where
we are headed over the next month.”

Retailers’ investments in technology continued to pay off with consumers
seamlessly shopping on all platforms throughout the weekend. The survey
found more than 89 million people shopped both online and in stores, up
nearly 40 percent from last year. The multichannel shopper outspent the
single-channel shopper by up to $93 on average.

Spending estimates from various groups have indicated that Thanksgiving
weekend was record-breaking for the retail industry, consistent with NRF’s
holiday forecast of up to a 4.8 percent increase in holiday spending
over the months of November and December. In addition, purchases over
the long weekend showed new trends coming from younger consumers, with
Gen Zers and younger millennials aged 18-24 spending an average $149 on
holiday purchases for themselves, more than any other generation.

Top purchases over the weekend included apparel (bought by 57 percent of
those surveyed), toys (34 percent), books and video games (29 percent),
electronics (26 percent) and gift cards (20 percent).

“This year, Gen Zers and millennials changed the way they shopped over
Thanksgiving weekend,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil
Rist said. “These younger shoppers have become savvier when it comes to
their research by leveraging social media to find inspiration for their
purchasing decisions and used the holiday weekend to splurge on non-gift
purchases for the season.”

The most popular day to shop online was Cyber Monday, cited by 67.4
million shoppers, followed by Black Friday with 65.2 million shoppers.
The most popular day for in-store shopping was Black Friday with more
than 67 million shoppers, followed by Small Business Saturday with 47.4
million shoppers. Also, 66 percent of smartphone owners used their
mobile devices to make holiday decisions, up from 63 percent last year.

With more shopping days before Christmas this year, consumers are taking
their time to finalize their holiday gift purchases. On average,
consumers have more than half (56 percent) of their holiday shopping
left to do. Many consumers (92 percent) believe that the strong deals
seen over Thanksgiving weekend will continue or improve throughout the
rest of the season.

The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade
association. Based in Washington, D.C., NRF represents discount and
department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street
merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and internet
retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is
the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four
U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to
annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.